The present invention relates to landing gear systems, and more specifically, to levered landing gear systems. A levered landing gear is designed to travel between an extended position and a static position during takeoff and landing operations, and will remain in the static position to support the weight of the aircraft while resting on the ground or taxiing. When in the static position, paired stop pads—at least one strut or “upper” pad and at least one truck or “lower” pad—come into contact with one another to arrest the travel of the landing gear from the extended position. Arresting this travel requires the stop pads, and the levered landing gear as a whole, to carry significant static, dynamic, and impact loads to support the aircraft while on the ground. These stop pads are in typically contact with one another while the aircraft is on the ground, and are generally not visible to maintenance and service personnel unless the weight of the aircraft is shifted off of the levered landing gear, which is an expensive and time consuming operation that is often conducted as scheduled maintenance.